Half a Heart
by TattooedLibrarian
Summary: When a wounded alien falls through the Rift, will the team be able to save her?
1. Definitely Not Unicorns

Author's notes: After 15 years of writing for myself, here is my first work to be published. Thanks to Roza Fufa for giving me the encouraging kick in the pants I needed.

Set sometime after first season, Owen is alive, full team, Jack/Ianto established... no specific episodes mentioned (as of yet).

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><p>The SUV stopped outside of a warehouse were the GPS had indicated something or someone had come through the Rift. Jack unholstered his weapon as Owen and Ianto came around the vehicle both with weapons drawn. Ianto glanced down at the device he held and pointed to a building next to the one they had stopped in front of, "can we hope for a Weevil?" Owen said.<p>

"In the middle of the day?" Jack responded.

"Tosh didn't recognize the signature, so not a Weevil" Ianto added and was shot a dirty look from Owen.

In front of the building Jack crouched down next to a silver pool of liquid that almost looked like mercury, "what is it?" Ianto asked as he scanned it.

"I think…" Jack stuck his finger in the pool.

"Are you stupid?" Owen smacked his arm. "It could kill you!" The three men paused and looked at each other. "Oh. Right." Jack rubbed the substance between his fingers and took a sniff of it. "I swear if you lick that…"

"I think it's blood" Jack said wiping his hand on his knee and stood up.

"Blood? Silver blood? What are we hunting? Unicorns? Please tell me it's unicorns."

"Several alien races have silver-ish blood. If it's wounded it could be more dangerous, so keep an eye out" Jack warned them.

They followed the trail of blood into the warehouse until it stopped. Jack glanced back at Ianto who motioned up the stairs which led to a hallway of abandoned offices. Each took an office, made a quick sweep of it and then moved to the next. "Jack" Ianto said standing in the doorway of the third door he'd checked. He trained his gun on the woman leaning against the wall breathing heavily. Her left hand pressed to her side was covered in the silver blood and it spilled down the knee length leather shorts and collected in the top of the boot that started just below her knee then pooled around her foot.

Both stared at each other until Jack and Owen appeared. The woman pushed herself off the wall and with her right hand pulled a long knife with a cured blade from behind her. It seemed like a strange move considering she appeared to have a gun like weapon holstered to her left hip, although it was also covered in blood.

The three men slowly entered the room trying not to spook her, "please tell me she is really dressed all in leather" Ianto rolled his eyes without looking at the doctor. Of course that would be the first thing Owen would notice.

"Hey there" Jack said, "Why don't you put the knife down. Three guns against you aren't really the best odds". He started to slowly move forward as she took a step back flipping the direction of the knife in her hand. Jack studied her trying to place her race. She had long dark blond hair pulled up behind her and had delicate features, the aqua eyes were unusual but not enough to place her origins. In fact, if it weren't for the silver blood she was rapidly losing his first guess would have been human but Jack also knew that aliens should never be judged by their exterior. She could very easily be an over sized man eating cockroach on the inside, although, he thought they generally did not bleed silver. "Look, we really don't want to hurt you" as if to demonstrate he put the Webley back in the holster and held up his hands out to show they were empty. He knew Owen and Ianto both had their weapons on her. "You are losing a lot of blood. Who are you" he asked. Her aqua eyes moved from his face to the men behind him and back, "where are you from?" She nervously turned the knife over again.

"Zy'oe" she finally said. Jack straightened up; a look of confusion passed quickly over his face then faded. "Zy'oe?" he repeated.

"You know it?"

"Yes. You came through a Rift in time and space and ended up on Earth. Let us fix your wound and we can try to get you back home through it".

"No!" The strength in her word caused Jack to take one step back. She raised her right hand and the knife she still held in surrender, the left still covered her side. "Under Article 7 of the Shadow Proclamation, I surrender myself as your prisoner, in exchange, I ask to serve out my sentence on Earth". So many questions ran through Jack's mind as he stood watching her.

Finally he said "put the knife down" wondering if it was a ruse to get him to lower his guard. There was no way a Zy'oean would willingly surrender with no chance of returning to their plant. Slowly she bent down and gently put the knife on the floor keeping her eyes locked on Jack's. She withdrew a spiral bladed knife from her right boot and set it next to the other. She stood up and started to reach for the gun, "Don't" Jack warned. She quickly put both hands up. "Ianto" he held his hand out and Ianto put the restraints in Jack's hand. "It's just for everyone's safety" he said carefully approaching her. Jack gently closed the wrist restraints around her "what's your name" he asked.

"Zafia Phazah"

"I'm Jack, this is Owen" he motioned the man forward. "He's a doctor and will cover your wound before we go". She briefly nodded. Owen had already put on a pair of gloves and unholstered the bloody weapon holding it out for Ianto to take. Without touching it, Ianto sealed it in a plastic bag with the Torchwood logo on it. He gathered the knives and put them in a second bag. "Ianto will look after them" Jack told her.

"We need to get her back to the Hub before she loses any more blood because we'll be out of luck for a transfusion" Owen told Jack as he pressed a wound pad to the woman's side. As if emphasizing his point Zafia collapsed against him, "great" Owen grumbled, now covered in blood.


	2. Welcome to Earth

"_We need to get her back to the Hub before she loses any more blood because we'll be out of luck for a transfusion" Owen told Jack as he pressed a wound pad to the woman's side. As if emphasizing his point Zafia collapsed against him, "great" Owen grumbled, now covered in blood._

Jack quickly wrapped his coat around her and the three hurried back to the SUV, settling Zafia and Owen in the back. "Jack, what is Zy'oe?" Ianto asked from the passenger seat.

"It's a planet in a galaxy far from here. It's about half the size of Earth".

"Is it terrible? Why wouldn't she want to go back? As soon as you mentioned it—"

"I don't know" Jack snapped. He regretted it instantly and reached over generally squeezing Ianto's knee not caring if Owen was watching. "I don't know" he said more quietly, "I was there… a long time ago and it was beautiful, almost too beautiful to be real. It certainly had its perks over this place…."

"Why did you leave?"

"It was a long time ago Ianto", which was code for 'discussion's over' although it didn't matter as they were stopped right outside of the Hub. Jack left them on the Plass and went to park the car.

"What happened?" both women asked jumping up to help as soon as they saw Owen and Ianto on the elevator. Ianto handed Gwen the bags of weapons as they carried the still unconscious woman to the medical bay. "Tosh, check the files for anything on Zy'oe" Ianto told her while they worked to get the leather shirt off Zafia. Owen was ready to cut it off but Ianto had insisted they try to save it, if she was never going to see her home world again, she might want something left from it. Owen moved the tray next to the table and glanced at the woman who was now in a leather bra like garment "I think I love their planet" he said wistfully.

Both men studied the pale blue vine like tattoo that wrapped around her torso and disappeared under her clothes and peeked out from the cuff at her knee, "interesting" Owen said moving the wound pad. Not only had it covered the still seeping wound but it had also covered the space where the tattoo started from; a space on her left rib cage near her heart only instead of blue like the rest it faded into black where the lines met. "She's lost a lot of blood but I don't think it hit any organs, I can do a scan once I get her more stabilized" the doctor said a loud to no one in particular although Ianto was listening as he undid the laces of the boots and worked around Owen as he tried to clean her blood off her. Jack always said it was a terrible feeling waking up in a pool of your own blood.

"She doesn't have a navel" Ianto stated, causing Owen to pause in his suturing.

"She's bleeding to death and you're worried about her navel?" Ianto shrugged.

"Just making an observation. She's also got a rather odd scar" he said poking the thin line that ran about two inches parallel to her hip bone. "It's almost like it's sealed shut or something and not healed over".

"Ianto, I'd be careful. Her mates might come through the Rift and cut off your fingers if you keep that up" Jack said leaning over the rail with a slight smirk on his face.

"Ahhh… umm" he stammered, "what?"

"You are poking her lady parts" Jack said slowly watching the embarrassment rising over Ianto's face. Behind him Jack could hear the girls giggling and Owen had to step away from his work to try and compose himself enough to finish.

"Liar. You are just trying to take the piss out of me" Ianto said.

"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours" a pained weak voice came from behind Ianto. He was completely mortified. Owen gave up and was sitting on a step doubled over in laughter at Ianto's embarrassment. Ianto rubbed his hands over his face and finally turned to face the alien on the table.

"I am so sorry. Really, it was completely thoughtless", she gave him a thin smile.

"He's only half right and it is sealed shut" she poked at it showing him there were no openings.

Owen finally was able to pull himself together enough to get back to work. "You fell through the Rift and then get molested. Welcome to Earth" he said sarcastically. "How is the pain? With you unconscious and not knowing your physiology I didn't want to give you too much medication".

"It's tolerable".

Owen nodded "I need to put a few more stitches in so let me know if it gets too bad". She nodded closing her eyes as Owen went back to stitching her side. Ianto could see the pain all over her face and his heart broke for her. To be in pain so far from home had to be the worst feeling in the world. He reached over and took her hand and she willingly accepted the gesture.

Owen finally tied off the last bit of thread and covered the wound. "You lost a lot of blood but I can't fix that" he pulled a clear IV bag from the fridge, "but I am going to give you as many fluids as I can. It will help some. Meanwhile, don't get up. You will be lightheaded and you've had a hell of a day, so I need a vein" he said looking at her hand and forearm for one. She was giving him an odd look, so he held up the needle. "This goes into your bloodstream" a light seemed to go off and she pointed to her shoulder, "or you can try my leg" she said but Owen found one at the top of her bicep.

Gwen and Toshiko appeared with some clean clothes, a blanket and pillow. Ianto took the pillow and tucked it behind her head and then threw the blanket over her. "When that is empty" Owen said pointing to the IV bag "you can get up, take a quick shower and then back to bed". She nodded with her eyes already drifting shut.


	3. Death by Broken Heart

_Gwen and Toshiko appeared with some clean clothes, a blanket and pillow. Ianto took the pillow and tucked it behind her head and then threw the blanket over her. "When that is empty" Owen said pointing to the IV bag "you can get up, take a quick shower and then back to bed". She nodded with her eyes already drifting shut._

They finished cleaning up and then Owen dimmed the lights as they left the bay. "I'll make coffee" Ianto offered. When it was finished they gathered in the boardroom. "Ianto asked me to look for anything on Zy'oe" Tosh started "but we didn't have anything".

Jack shook his head and took a sip of the coffee "as far as I know, we've never had a Zy'oean on Earth. At least one has never come through the Rift. But I reckon they might have visited".

"Like on vacation?" Gwen asked.

Jack shrugged, "why not? Or it might have been a research party. It's generally a peaceful planet, so I don't think we'll have any problems with her" he frowned to himself, but only Ianto seemed to notice but said nothing.

"I'll start looking for someplace for her to stay" Ianto go up.

"She should stay here for a while" Owen said before he could leave. "I don't know enough to know how she'll react to that wound or anything. Is that –" he motioned off towards the medical area "their true form?"

"Yes. She should blend in without problems".

"Except the tattoo".

"It's not. They are born with them. All different colors and patterns, but all Zy'oean have them" Not caring where the conversation went Ianto left to start making calls to find somewhere for Zafia to stay.

An hour later he found Jack in his office and sat a fresh cup of coffee on the man's desk. "Thanks" Jack said quietly and motioned for Ianto to take a seat but he settled for the corner of Jack's desk. "No space at the Inn. I tried some of the other usual places but there must be something going on. The soonest I could get her a room is in two weeks. Do you want me to put her up in a hotel?" Jack put the mug down and rested his elbows on his desk. "Sir, you've been there, what aren't you saying? You've had this look since she surrendered. The others didn't notice, but I did". He said quietly putting a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder.

Jack let out a loud sigh, "Zy'oean's mate for life".

"So she will be here without her mate?" Ianto hadn't meant to sound as confused as it came out.

"Yes, she will" he leaned back in his chair to face Ianto. "When I say they mate for life, I mean she won't survive without her mate. I don't know for how long but I knew something was wrong when I saw the black spreading. It's moving too fast for as short of time as she's been here".

"You mean the black on her…" he pointed to his own chest miming the tattoos.

"Yes. I've only ever seen it in elderly Zy'oeans who'd lost their mates. It's like the sand of an hourglass".

"So when all the blue turns black…" Jack nodded. "She surrendered and asked to stay here knowing it would be her death".

"Yes" both men at in silence for a long time.

"On a planet that mates for life, no wonder you didn't stay." Ianto finally said lightening the mood a little. Jack swatted at his leg playfully.

"I was third mate for a while" he said with a cheeky grin.

"Captain Jack Harkness come in third at anything?" Ianto mocked.

"No, third mates are free to join and leave as they want."

"They are a polygamist planet? Of course you would like it" he said rolling his eyes.

"No, they are a _polyamorist_ planet" Jack stood up and kissed Ianto caressing his cheek.

"Why would she sign her own death warrant?"

"I have no idea" Jack pulled away from his lover and went to stand in front of the old TV monitors displaying various parts of the Hub. "It goes against everything I know about them".

"Well then" Ianto slid off the desk and picked up Jack's empty mug. "I am sure you can charm a reason out of her" Jack shot him a side eyed glace. Ianto nervously turned the mug in his hands "she could stay with me" Ianto offered. "For a while until we can get her set up somewhere. I have a spare room. I'm rarely there anyway." He paused, "any way, just an idea". He headed out the door but before he could escape Jack caught his elbow, studying the young man's face.

"What is it Ianto?"

Ianto shook his head "I don't know. It's just..." he sighed heavily letting his shoulders slump and Jack pulled him into a hug. "It's just after Lisa, I thought I was going to die of a broken heart and she's here just willing to do it. And generally our aliens look like, well, aliens and not heartbroken girls".

"They can't all look like Weevils and Daleks"

"I just want her time here to be worth the pain". Jack pulled Ianto away from him taking his face in his hands. "Ask her to stay with you. They do better with people and not being alone will help".

"Thank you Sir"

"Just be careful". Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"Of what?" Jack shrugged.

"She might be an evil one" He kissed Ianto again and let him leave the office, watching him move down the stairs to put Jack's mug in the sink.

Jack had felt her pull as soon as he'd seen her, although he hadn't recognized it until they were back at the Hub. He wondered if that was what Ianto was feeling too. Jack knew they weren't telepathic or really even empathic and had met other pairs off of Zy'oe but hadn't felt their pull. Ianto had been right about one thing, she was dying of a broken heart and hers was reaching out for her mate and for comfort. Jack's eyes followed the man around the Hub gathering up the weapons they had collected from Zafia.

He knew Ianto had a good heart, he avoided hurting any of the aliens they caught unless it was necessary, and he had tried to save Lisa despite the danger and had even quieted many of his own demons that plagued him at night. If anyone could help lessen Zafia's last painful days it would be Ianto.


	4. The Painful Truth

_He knew Ianto had a good heart, he avoided hurting any of the aliens they caught unless it was necessary, and he had tried to save Lisa despite the danger and had even quieted many of his own demons that plagued him at night. If anyone could help lessen Zafia's last painful days it would be Ianto._

Jack noticed that the lights were back in the medical bay and headed downstairs. Tosh and Gwen sat on the bottom steps of one staircase. Owen had Zafia sitting up examining her while Ianto stood in the background. "How are you feeling?" Jack asked coming down the other staircase. She turned and winced as she glanced over her shoulder at him.

"I've had better days" she confessed. "Do you treat all your prisoners this well?"

"Only those that surrender", he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You know Earth isn't a member of the Shadow Proclamation, so I can't technically accept your surrender". Zafia took a ragged breath.

"Are you going to send me back then?" Jack waited until Owen stepped back and snapped off his gloves.

"I've spent time on Zy'oe. It's been a while but I doubt things have changed so much that you would be willing to stay here without your mate. What happened?" Zafia hung her head in defeat.

"They turned on me" she said quietly.

"Your mates?" Jack asked and she nodded.

"How many mates do you have?" Tosh asked.

"Two are required, three are common, four are forbidden. I have three." Jack could see the doctor's mind working overtime to process the idea of having four mates. "We take our first mate at 8 Rotations for three Rotations during Thaumaturgy".

"During what" Owen asked.

"It's their version of being teenagers" Jack offered. "A Rotation is the equivalent of 18 Earth months".

"Oi! They're offering up mates to teenagers?"

"We won't survive Thaumaturgy without them" Zafia said.

"Sorry Owen. They spend about four and a half years asleep in a pod with their First Mate. Not generally what we think of as a 'mate'".

"They are always the first. You always carry them with you. In time you take a second mate. Your Second Mate is the one you are bound to forever. Each pair can then choose a Third Mate. Thirds can leave a pair for another. Either another pair or they may find their own Second Mate. My Second Mate Anael and I took Poso for our Third Mate almost 9 Rotations ago. They…" she paused, "grew closer and a Rotation ago they asked the Elder Council to dissolve our bonds. Anael and Poso wanted a Third Mate but had to remove me first". She finally looked at Jack, he could feel the pain in her soul pulling at his heart and he couldn't imagine how it felt to be the one to carry the pain. He glanced passed her to Ianto and noticed him subconsciously rubbing at his sternum as if he'd had a sudden bout of acid reflux.

"But you can't be separated!" Gwen said in surprised.

"I've never heard of a Zy'oean even trying to separate. Even if both mates agreed" Jack said trying to imagine the process to make that happen.

"We don't. Third Mates take the risk of being without a mate. It is a deadly choice they must make, so only they can make it. Seconds don't. It's forever. We can't survive it. The council told them it was impossible. We needed to work it out. As the Third Mate the Council told Poso to leave. She did, for a while, but Anael still saw her. I was running from them when I fell through the Rift."

"They did this?" Owen asked pointing to her wound.

"Yes. My death gives them what they want. If I go back I face my execution."

"It's already spreading." Jack said "you'll still face a death sentence if you stay".

"But I won't be hunted like a Djinn" she said bitterly "My corpse left to rot so I never find my way from the Dark". No one knew what to say. Their alien was facing her death either way.

"You're light blue" Jack finally said changing the subject. "It's the color of the royal family isn't it?"

Zafia gave him an odd look, "it has been a while since you were on Zy'oe. It was. They stepped down generations ago, long before I was born. Each region elects leaders to the Council of Elders. The Royal families were beginning to fight within their groups and the colors were getting mixed and they couldn't agree how leadership should be passed down. So they all agreed to step aside before it led to war".

"What about your family?" Gwen asked "Won't they notice you're gone?"

"After Thaumaturgy our mates become our family. My First Mate, Aziel has his own mate and they live on the coast so I don't get to see them often, but they will know I am gone."

"How?" Zafia carefully slid of the table and turned to show them her back. Over her left shoulder blade was a dark blue pattern similar to the light blue she had. "It transfers during Thaumaturgy. Aziel's are light blue. The connection can fade over time, but we have remained close, so the connection is still strong."

"Why are you required to have a mate?" Ianto asked finally speaking up. "I mean, why does it kill you if you don't?"

Zafia looked at the medical equipment and turned to the scanner placing her hand on it. It took a minute for the machine to take the reading but the Torchwood agents all waited staring at the white wall. Her organs came into focus and as a doctor, Owen was able to identify most of them even if they were slightly different looking or in a slightly different place. But what caught his attention was the small lopsided looking heart, literally, half a heart. "We are each born with half a heart, only completed when we're together. We're not strong enough on our own." She gave Ianto a sad look. "But things are changing. Bad things." She looked back at the screen and pulled her hand away.

"What sort of bad things?"

"Children are born with only one lung or one kidney where there should be two. They die before Thaumaturgy, if they took a mate it would kill their mate too when it tried to compensate for the absence. More are being born without a heart at all. It's as if we are becoming less than half. Aziel and Sovel had boy without a heart. He died just after delivery; no one knows what's happening to them. The numbers are growing". She clung to the edge of the table for support.

"What about you? Do you have any children?" Tosh asked.

"No and I am glad for that. With everything that has happened…" she shook her head dismissing the thoughts. Before she could fall Jack gently put an arm around her easing her back onto the table. "How long do you have?" he asked.

Zafia shrugged, "half a Rotation. Maybe more, maybe less". No one knew what to say. They were all still trying to process the whole conversation they'd just had.

"Well" Owen said finally breaking the silence "it's going to be a lot less if you don't get some rest and let me change this IV". Everyone else was pulled from their thoughts and headed back upstairs.

"I'll find dinner" Ianto offered heading to the stairs then paused half way up. "What do you eat?"

"Live rats Ianto, we should have some in the basement" Ianto shot Jack an evil look whom had a mischievous grin on his face.

"You are an arse and I am never showing you my stopwatch again" he hissed.

"Ouch! Pizza. They eat pizza"

"Really?" he said not sure if he really trusted their leader.

"We're on Earth; we might as well eat like the locals".

"We are the locals Jack" he leaned over the rail, "and I am not making coffee for you either", he continued up the stairs.

"Jack, that's not really how you woo a man" Gwen offered.

"He secretly likes it"

"And you secretly are giving up coffee?" she asked headed up the stairs with Tosh following leaving just Jack, Owen and Zafia.

"How's the pain?" Owen asked while swapping out the IV. "Don't shrug it off. It won't help you heal faster if you are in pain".

"It hurts. A lot" she admitted.

"I figured" he pushed a syringe into the IV line. "It will make you tired so don't fight it".

"Thank you" she said. Owen nodded and headed upstairs to study the scans Zafia had taken of herself. Jack gently tucked the blanket around her "Ianto has offered to take you home with him until you are feeling better. We'll set you up with everything you need to get settled here but the places we generally use are full for a couple weeks and with your wound you won't be completely mobile. He'll look out for you; just make sure he keeps his fingers to himself." Zafia smiled a little. "Really though, I trust him with my life".

"And you trust me with his? Or to just let me go?"

"I have a cell if you prefer. Zy'oe really aren't known to be violent and it's unlikely you would leave your mates to voluntarily jump into the Rift and hope you landed somewhere worth attacking. Despite the situation with your mates, the odds are still against it. So I figure you can't inflict any damage that we can't handle. Just make sure I get Ianto back in one piece." He said quietly, "get some rest before the pizza gets here".


	5. The First Night of the Rest of Our Lives

"_Really though, I trust him with my life"._

"_And you trust me with his? Or to just let me go?"_

"_I have a cell if you prefer. Zy'oean really aren't known to be violent and it's unlikely you would leave your mates to voluntarily jump into the Rift and hope you landed somewhere worth attacking. Despite the situation with your mates, the odds are still against it. So I figure you can't inflict any damage that we can't handle. Just make sure I get Ianto back in one piece." He said quietly, "get some rest before the pizza gets here"._

Sometime later Gwen was waking Zafia "hungry?" she asked helping her sit up. Zafia nodded as Gwen wrapped a cardigan that she and Tosh had found. "The Hub stays pretty cool so you may want this". Zafia pulled it on her right arm and Gwen helped her navigate it over the IV.

"Could I have my boots? My feet are cold".

"Sure. Ianto cleaned them up for you". Gwen unhooked the IV bag from the stand so Zafia could put on her shoes.

"That was nice of him" she said lacing them up.

"He tries to look after all of us. God knows we can't" she said with a small laugh. The pair slowly made their way up to the boardroom where everyone was starting to gather.

Zafia studied the pizza with great interest before diving into it like the others. She found that she enjoyed it despite how different it was from her normal diet. Jack watched with some amusement as Zafia picked the toppings off her pizza sniffing and tasting each one of their own.

"Is it alright?' Ianto asked. Zafia nodded sticking the vegetables back on.

"It's got to be better than Ophrdia" Jack offered being awarded a small smile from Zafia.

"What's Ophrdia" Owen inquired.

"It's this… jelly fish like thing that tastes like sulfur and has the consistency of …" he was looking at Ianto who had one eyebrow raised. Jack cleared his throat "of snot" he finished although they all knew that 'snot' wasn't what he was about to say.

"You eat sulfur snot?"

Zafia shrugged, "it's an acquired taste".

"And ranks really high on the list of things I hate". Zafia had to agree finishing her slice of pizza. Although she didn't understand most of the conversation Zafia felt safe for the first time for a long time. The ache in her heart lessened just a little and she decided she would spend as much time with them as they would let her. She dozed out at the table before she realized it.

The rest of the team cleaned up and went about their work and gathered a few things for Zafia. "Zafia…" Ianto said quietly not wanting to startle her but she still jumped. "Sorry, Jack said he talked to you about staying at my flat. It's not much but my niece and nephew say the bed's comfortable, so if you're okay with it."

Zafia nodded, "thank you".

"You haven't seen the place yet. Jack went to pull the car around and Owen said he would take care of that IV before we leave. Come on" He helped her up and then downstairs. Owen quickly capped the port on the IV and Tosh handed Ianto a backpack as they stepped into the invisible lift. "See you in the morning".

"Have a good night" Tosh said as she hit the button for the lift and waved goodbye.

Jack was leaning on Ianto's Audi when they appeared. "What is it?" Zafia asked.

"It's a car. Personal transport" Jack told her and opened the door. Ianto helped her in and buckled the belt taking care not to touch her wound. Once settled he shut the door and then turned to Jack. "Alright. I think Owen gave me enough medical supplies in case we go to war tonight".

"Well go easy on her. Stab wounds hurt" he said straightening Ianto's collar and tie.

"Right. Alien falls through the Rift and me taking her to bed is the first thing you think of. Nice Jack."

"Well, I thought about taking her to bed first and then you".

"You are insatiable" he held onto the front of Jack's coat and pulled him into a kiss. "I will see you in the morning. Should I bring her in?"

"Sure, if she's up for it. Owen will probably want to check on her".

"Okay. Night then" he let go of Jack and went around the car getting in. Jack watched them drive off and then stepped onto the lift.

"Okay?" Ianto asked. Zafia had her face pressed to the window like a small child.

"It's beautiful. All the lights…. Is Jack your mate?" She asked.

"what? No! No." he focused on the road "we…" he glanced at her trying to decide how to describe their relationship "it's complicated."

"Why?"

"Well… Jack is, Jack is Jack and he doesn't like boxes and labels. He doesn't want to define what we are and it's all sort of new for me… being with a man I mean. I had girlfriends before" he clarified.

"Is that odd on Earth?" She asked.

"What? Having a girlfriend?"

"You being with a man"

"It could get us killed in some parts of the World. But people are coming around. Jack says by the 51st Century none of it matters. "

"You can be killed for loving someone?"

"Well, not here in Cardiff. Gay marriage is legal in the UK"

"I don't understand"

"Two people of the same gender can become mates".

"Ahh. Both of my mates were female" she offered. "What is the UK?"

"It's where we are. If you'd like I can show you a map tomorrow"

"I would like that. I want to learn everything while I am here". Ianto stopped outside of the flat. "This is nice" she said looking at it. Ianto helped her out of the car and inside turning on the lights.

"There isn't much here, but with work I don't get to spend a lot of time here." He led her down a hallway and flipped on the bedroom light setting the backpack on the bed opening it. "The bath is right across the hall if you want to take a shower. Owen said not to get the stitches wet, so we can leave the bandage on and you are to get more fluids. The girls packed some clothes and a new toothbrush" he said taking them out of the bag. He found a towel in the closet and put it and the bathroom. "My room is right there" he rested his hands on his hips, "any questions?"

"What is a toothbrush?"

"You use it to clean your teeth." He pointed to his mouth and she nodded. "So let me know when you are finished and I'll hook up the IV."

"Thank you"

"It's nothing".

"No." She took his hand "you have all been so kind… it's been a long time since anyone has been." Ianto could see the pain, fear and loneliness in her aqua eyes that were on the verge of tears. He pulled her into a gentle hug not wanting to hurt her side.

"You are safe here. It's just the five of us but we'll look after you so you won't have to be alone". She slowly put an arm around him and he held her close while she sobbed silently. They stood in the middle of the hall for a long time until Ianto felt her finally calm down. "Shower, then sleep and you will feel better in the morning".

Ianto undressed and pulled on a t-shirt and pajama pants then called Jack to let him know they had made home. He filled him in on Zafia's breakdown, which Jack had warned him was coming. He was making tea in the kitchen when Zafia found him. The girls had given her a t-shirt and sweatpants, "gotta go" Ianto said to the phone.

"I got this wet" she said pointing to her side.

"We can fix that". He took his tea and led her back to her room fishing the medical supplies out of the bag. Ianto carefully peeled the wound pad off and gently cleaned the wound. He was pleased that Owen had kept the stitches small and it should only leave a small scar. He covered it back up with a clean dry bandage. "How's the pain?"

"It's okay". Ianto hooked the IV bag to the line in her arm and then rigged the bag to hang from the headboard.

"This has pain medication in it" he showed her the syringe. "You can put it in this" he showed her the connection in the IV line. "Owen said not to let it get too bad". She nodded settling back against the pillow. "Comfortable enough?" Zafia nodded again and Ianto pulled the blankets over her. "Sleep well", He turned out the light and headed to his room.


	6. Little Miss Smarty Pants

"_This has pain medication in it" he showed her the syringe. "You can put it in this" he showed her the connection in the IV line. "Owen said not to let it get too bad". She nodded settling back against the pillow. "Comfortable enough?" Zafia nodded again and Ianto pulled the blankets over her. "Sleep well", He turned out the light and headed to his room. _

Ianto woke in the middle of the night and checked on Zafia. She was asleep but he swapped out the IV bag and gave her pain medication then went back to sleep. He was surprised when she shuffled into the kitchen early the next morning, "hey, how are you feeling?"

"Not bad" he went over and disconnected the IV.

"Would you like coffee? A lot of Earthlings enjoy it in the morning. I have toast and jam if you are hungry. "

"Yes, I will try all of them".

"Excellent".

"I will change while you finish" she headed back to her room and redressed in what she'd worn the day before and returned to the kitchen. Ianto didn't say anything about her wardrobe. He figured there was a certain level of comfort in them. He put two cups of coffee and a plate of toast on the table and then joined her. Zafia took a sip of the coffee and made a humming noise.

"Good?" Zafia nodded taking a bite of toast. She surprised him by devouring five pieces of toast and two cups of coffee. "Would you like to go back to the Hub?" he asked pulling on a suit coat.

"Yes".

The drive there was much as the drive the night before and they walked along the docks until Zafia stopped staring out at the water. "Is it like home?"

"No. Our oceans are pink with rolling waves".

"It's beautiful". Jack said coming up behind them. "Maybe I'll take you one day Ianto".

"Sure you will, Sir" Ianto rolled his eyes. "He talks a good line" he told Zafia.

"Hey, one day I will get this fixed" he pointed to his wrist strap.

"A vortex manipulator?" Zafia asked "You are a Time Agent?"

"Was. I was. A long time ago" Zafia turned to study his face. She reached out touching his face and caressed her thumb over his forehead.

"How long did they take from you?"

"Two years" he said quietly. "How did you know?"

"My First Mate's brother returned to us horribly broken". She turned her attention back to the bay. "They took 5 rotations, his mates, his children, everything. After, we were forbidden from signing up. The Time Agents are forbidden to land on Zy'oe".

"It killed him", Zafia nodded. "They are the scourge of the universe. Come in, everyone is waiting for Ianto's coffee".

Ianto glanced at his watch. "No one else is here yet, Sir".

"Fine, I would desperately love a cup of coffee" he said letting them into the tourist office.

Once everyone got in Owen checked Zafia over. He was surprised to find that her cut was already starting to heal. She didn't seem as pale or tired so he removed the IV but told her to take it easy. Unsure of what to do with herself, she sat on the couch under the Torchwood sign until the Rift alert went off. "It's just the Rift" Tosh told her. "Nothing to worry about".

"What do we have?" Jack asked leaning over the railing.

"I'm not getting any life signs. Rift junk maybe".

"You and Ianto want to go check on it?" The pair nodded and left.

45 minutes later they returned with a silver flat disc about an inch thick the size of an old record. "We found a space hub cap" Ianto said unimpressed by their recent discovery as he put it on a table.

"Any ideas?" Tosh asked Jack as he picked it up but he shook his head. "I'll run some tests on it."

"You should be careful with it" Zafia said from the couch.

"We do this all the time" Owen said.

"Well since you've all admitted you have no idea what it is" she got up and went over to the table. "It's a Viridian waste disc. They use them on their freighters to siphon off the excess energy waste". She ran her fingers along the outer edge three times in a counterclockwise direction. With a small hiss the top rose just enough to allow it to be gripped. Curiosity getting the better of him, Jack pulled up and a container about a foot deep came out of the bottom disc. Inside was a glowing yellow gas. "It's a hydrogen mix" Zafia offered, "and very volatile, so don't shake or drop it".

"And they just chuck it into space?" Gwen seemed horrified.

"Well, they compress it into these containers and that usually holds it".

"Usually?"

"One of them malfunctions occasionally".

"You've seen them before?"

"Sure" Tosh was examining the bottom half of the disc trying to figure out how a foot long container could fit into an inch deep disc. "I have… had a few".

"A few waste discs?" Owen asked.

"No. I put other things in them".

"Then how did you know that this one held waste?"

Zafia turned the container around and pointed to a row of symbols, "it says so".

"How is it you can read that? And that you know English? You are from another galaxy" Owen demanded, just now realizing how good her English was for an alien who had fallen through the Rift. They only ever seemed to know English if they were planning on a take-over.

"I know forty languages" she shrugged as if it was no big deal "two Earth ones".

"40?" Tosh repeated.

"40", Zafia confirmed.

"Like four-zero" Gwen tried to clarify still not sure she heard correctly.

"This is an Earth number?" she asked Jack. "More than 30 and less than 50?" The group all nodded dumbfounded.

"What did you do on Zy'oe?" Jack asked.

"I was a cybernetic physicist – part time psychologist, but mostly I focused on communication and linguistics. Although I spent my free time as an Astro-Historian". The humans all stared at her. Finally she looked up at them "what?"

"That is a hell of a career" Owen said.

"I am just one of a team. I suppose they will replace me" she frowned, thinking about her unfinished work.

"What are you working on?"

"My current team is working with the medics to recreate a suitable heart for those born without. But it will take generations. Cyber technology can be sneaky."

"So you are creating robots?" Gwen asked.

'No. None of our work has consciousness. Generations ago, when we first started down this path it was laid out what we can and cannot do. No AI".

"How did you get into cyber technology?"

"I started with communications and translating technology before going to the cyber technology. Hundreds of Rotations ago our moon was destroyed by Daleks. Then we lost thousands to the Cybermen". Ianto subconsciously sucked in a breath and Zafia looked up at him with dark eyes. "The Elders wanted a way to defeat them, so they started studying the technology, sending scholars to planets who already understood cyber technology. I was part of the seventh team to work on the project".

"Did you have any luck? Defeating them?"

"I don't know. We created a virus, but our studies show it could work".

"What kind of virus" Owen wanted to know.

"It's designed to interrupt their internal processing centers". She sounded hesitant.

"But?"

"They have to convert a carrier."

"What?" Gwen blurted.

"Once a carrier is converted the virus will start to spread across the rest. It's not a preventative measure or for defense, other than they will learn not to mess with us. Four Rotations ago we started the first round of live testing. The results have been promising. Then we can move to a larger group and finally the whole planet."

"Wait… you are infecting everyone on Zy'oe with this virus?"

After several minutes of silence Zafia finally said "yes. It's non-threatening to Zy'oeans".

"That you know of."

"Yes. If we drop dead, the team will continue with new research".

"You took it?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I was among the first and haven't had any side effects. It's going well enough that I felt I could take on new challenges allowing our younger researchers to continue the work. I have confidence in them".

"So what if you all turn into Cyber people?"

"We have plans in place and if it happens while I am here, I am sure you will do what needs to be done" she said staring down Jack.

"We will" he promised without any emotion. Zafia gave a curt nod. "Ianto, log this and put it somewhere where it won't be disturbed".

With that the group broke up and Jack headed up to his office indicating that Zafia should follow. He offered her a chair and then took his own behind his desk. "How are you feeling?"

Zafia shrugged, "better than yesterday. Ianto took good care of me".

"I would have expected nothing less".

"It is really so odd that I know 40 languages?"

"On Earth? Yes. Some people know two or three. Fewer know more, I can't think of any one that knows 40."

"And my work?" Jack frowned.

"Cyber technology is still in its infancy here in a lot of ways. Not long ago Torchwood London, our sort of headquarters was attached by Daleks and Cybermen. In the end It was destroyed. Ianto's girlfriend was half converted, he tried to save her and it nearly killed us all, so they are a bit of a sore spot."

"Jack, what am I going to do here? I don't have the time to build a whole new life. My knowledge of alien technology could be dangerous if Earth isn't ready for it. I know some things about Earth, but not enough to blend in". Jack sighed; they were all the thoughts that had kept him awake the night before. He folded his hands on his desk. Others had settled in, but it had taken time. "Could I stay here?" she asked. "I could help; I have information I can try to share about the alien or cyber technology. If you are worried about me walking off with your secrets I could stay in here. I am your prisoner" she reminded him. Jack leaned back rubbing his chin. She could be useful. She knew about the device they brought back, maybe there were other things. He also knew, however unlikely, she could be any number of things sent to destroy them.

"I'll think about it and talk to the others. For now, just take it easy and rest. Later I'll take you to meet Janet."

"Who is Janet?"

"Our resident Weevil".

"A Weevil?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Later. Get Ianto to give you a quick tour".

"He offered to show me a map of the world" she said getting up.

Jack loved the genuine enthusiasm she had about getting to see a map. Sometimes he forgot how new things could be.


	7. Plans

"_He offered to show me a map of the world" she said getting up. Jack loved the genuine enthusiasm she had about getting to see a map. Sometimes he forgot how new things could be._

Jack hurried down the stairs two at a time to the archive and nearly ran head first into Ianto, "there you are", he said with a wide grin.

"I wasn't missing".

"Ah, but I always miss you" Jack out his hands around Ianto's waist before he could see Ianto's eyes roll and kissed him backing him against the wall, after a minute Ianto broke the kiss.

"As much as I would love to say 'I hope you came down here for something other than that' I somehow doubt you did."

"Ha! But I did" he moved his hand further down Ianto's back.

"Something that does not involve after hours activities" Jack pulled away pouting a bit.

"Okay. I did. Really" he said noticing Ianto's skeptical look. He leaned back against a filing cabinet putting plenty of space between them. "How was your night with Zafia?"

"Alright I think. She slept through the night. Other than her breakdown, which I think is perfectly reasonable considering everything she went through", Jack nodded. "She seemed to enjoy the coffee and toast we had for breakfast. Is she alright?"

"Yes. I think so. We had a conversation a bit ago. She asked to stay here."

"At the Hub?" he frowned "I hope I didn't over step my bounds with her. One embarrassment is quite enough for one day."

"No. Yes, she wants to stay at the Hub, but to work. Should I know something else about last night?"

"No. She wants to work here?" he asked. "I reckon it makes sense. She might have a better idea as to what some of this… stuff it. And 40 alien languages … does she speak Weevil? We could use her help to translate some things." Jack watched with amusement as his lover went over a list of uses for Zafia. "Are you listening or were you mentally undressing me again" he asked.

"Hmmm?" Jack pulled his eyes to Ianto's face. "Yes, yes" he quickly agreed.

"I assume that's a yes to the latter question. But I don't think you are really asking if I could find something for her to do." Jack shook his head.

"They are good ideas though. I am sure she is fine, but we have to consider ulterior motives."

"Jack, you still have her bag and weapons. Owen scanned her for technology and she was clean. So she has no way of getting home even if she wanted to and she's dying. Do you really want her to spend her only time on Earth counting down the hours? Let her be useful. I'll keep an eye on her".

"She's not a pet Ianto," Jack gently reminded him.

"There is something about her" he said ignoring Jack's quip. "I trust her" he finally met jack's eyes.

"You can feel it, like it's pulling on you" Ianto nodded. "I can feel it too" Jack confessed.

"What is it?"

"Her heart. She probably doesn't even realize it. It's searching".

"For her mates?" Jack nodded again. "Can the others feel it?"

"I don't know. I heard the older Zy'oeans talking about it once. They said it was like the soul looking for the security of another. Like it wanted a warm blanket to wrap up in".

"So why us? Why me?" Jack went back over to where Ianto still leaned against the wall and caressed his cheek, "because you have a good heart and you genuinely care about people. I think spending time with you could help ease her pain, if you wanted."

"I don't want her to die" he said quietly.

"We can't stop that. We can only ease her loneliness and maybe buy her more time. Maybe we can give her a year". Ianto put his head on Jack's shoulder.

"Then we'll make it a good year, yeah?"

"We'll give her the best time we can. Come on now". He straightened Ianto up and brushed the dust off his back. "She said you were going to shower her a map and I'll talk to the others about her staying with us".

"But not in the Hub. She can use my flat. I'm usually here worked or … er working" he blushed "so it would give her a space of her own. I'll go make coffee before you meeting"

Jack followed Ianto upstairs and Ianto headed to the coffee pot while Jack continued up to his office.

Once a fresh pot of coffee had been brewed Jack called the rest of the team to the boardroom while Ianto took two mugs to Zafia and they settled at a computer. Jack watched them for a minute before pulling the door shut and settled in his chair.

"Zafia has asked to stay with us" he started.

"The Hub is a miserable place to live" Owen said "no offense".

"No Owen, for now she will stay at Ianto's until she's healed."

"So he's back into women?"

"She's asked to work here" Jack said ignoring Owen's jab. He tried to get a read on their feelings. "I think she could offer us a lot of information, maybe identify some of the stuff in the basement and translate some things." He looked at Tosh, "but"

"But she's an alien" Tosh said.

"And all we have to go on is her word, which I am inclined to believe. The black covering her colors doesn't lie. She is dying. Aside from hacking into the Rift, she can't leave here."

"Unless her people plan an alien invasion".

"Of course, short of being able to time travel the Rift is really the only option. It would take a couple years to get there with the fastest ship to get here so we can probably rule out invasion."

"Well personally I would love to have her look at my translation project. It would be nice to be sure some of them were right" Tosh said trying to hide her enthusiasm.

"Tosh and I can take her out shopping for clothes and some things to help her settle in." Gwen offered.

"And despite that frown, I know you are itching to find out about that Cyberman virus" Jack told Owen. "Every, just keep an eye out for anything odd. And try to remember, she comes from a very close knit culture".

"So we shouldn't take it personally if she tries to snog us?" Owen asked.

"Owen, you gave me a hard time for snogging aliens".

"But you never said there are hot aliens."

"They come in all levels of hotness and if she snogs you, you won't have to worry about taking anything personally."

"It won't kill me will it? Like that crazy sex alien?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Could you think of a better way to go?" He stood and collected his mug leaving Owen to wonder if Jack was just messing with him.

After the meeting the team found Ianto standing on the edge of the pool that ran through the middle of the Hub with his hands on his hips looking perplexed. In front of him, and in the middle of the water stood Zafia, ankle deep petting their Pteranodon's head.

"How'd she do that?" Owen asked. It had taken the creature months to warm up to anyone and at times she was still standoffish, but she seemed to take right to Zafia. Ianto shook his head when the group joined him, "She offered her chocolate and then just walked right out there".

"Unbelievable." Realizing the rest of the team was watching the Pteranodon spooked and took off. A little disappointed Zafia waded back and shook the water off her boots.

"I like her very much" she said much to everyone's dismay.

"Let's see how you do with Weevils" Jack said putting a hand on her shoulder and led her downstairs to the cells that held Janet the Weevil. "Have you ever seen one?" he asked as Zafia gave her a curious look. She shook her head and crouched down to the Weevil's level. "They come through the Rift like you did."

"So you do imprison some things".

"They live underground in the sewers, and we're happy to let them, but once in a while they come to the surface and attack and kill people. If we catch them before they hurt anyone, we tag them and let them go again." Zafia held her hand to the glass. "We know very little about them. We can't communicate with them, although they might have a low level of telepathy or empathy. The best guess we have is that they are prisoners sent through the Rift or they are a science experiment gone wrong."

"Why?"

"They all have the same blue jump suits. She must like you too" Jack observed. Zafia glanced up at Jack not sure what he meant. "She hasn't growled or snarled at you". In fact Janet had moved just a few feet closer to the good and was watching Zafia with a halfcocked head.

"It's okay" Zafia told her still keeping her hand on the glass. Zafia spoke quietly in her native language holding Janet's attention for longer than Jack had ever seen a Weevil watch anything. He had forgotten how beautiful it was and he wondered what Zafia was telling her.

"She is very frightened" Zafia finally said.

"She told you that?"

"No, it's the way she cowers and I would be scared to be in here" She pulled her hand back and the Weevil moved to the back of the cell again. After minute Zafia stood up, "I can try talking to her in other languages to see if she responds to any of them", Jack gave her a big grin.

"It's a good thing the team decided you could stay. Ianto has a long list of jobs for you. Tosh could use some help with a pet project and Owen is dying to know about your cyber virus". He put his arm back around her shoulders as they went up the stairs which she didn't seem to mind. "The girls are going to take you out when you are feeling better to get you some things and I think you should stay with Ianto. It will be more comfortable there and Owen says you can't live in the Hub. If you are okay with living with Ianto, I don't want to make you feel weird." He seriously doubted it would be a problem. Many Zy'oeans lived in communal areas before they took mates and often partner-less Third Mates shared housing.

"Why would I feel … weird?"

"21st Century Earth, people are still getting used to men and women living together as an unmarried couple."

"Ianto won't mind? I don't want him to feel 'weird'?"

"I think he could use the company".

"I don't want to interfere with your time together" she tried, despite what Ianto had told her yesterday she knew there was something between them.

"What? Oh… no. We, we really don't have anything to interfere with", he saw Zafia frown; Jack knew she didn't believe him.

"Don't let my presence stop you from visiting. I know how difficult it can be to be a part from those you care for."

"Nah. " Jack said trying to shrug off the comment. "We see each other every day at work."

"I see" Jack thought he heard a touch of skepticism in her voice. Ianto was waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

"I took the liberty of ordering lunch. It should be here soon. And UNIT called Sir, the name and number is on your desk. Call them".

Jack let out a loud sigh, "after lunch". Ianto gave him a quick nod and then went to the tourist office to wait for their lunch delivery.

After lunch Zafia fell asleep on the couch until the Rift alarm woke her several hours later. "You'll get used to it." Ianto told her. "We can work on your papers and background while they're out. "

"What sort of background?"

"One to make you blend in. You can't tell people you are a cybernetic physicist or an astro-historian. They probably shouldn't know you can speak 40 languages. You could say you are a historian or a physicist or a linguist, but you should probably stick to one profession, " he said smiling at her.

"I see. Since I know very little about Earth history and only speak two Earth languages, I should pick physicist then " Ianto nodded, filling in a form on the computer

"It's not a bad choice. How old are you?"

"47 rotations." Ianto closed his eyes mentally trying to work out the math.

"That makes you almost 70!" he said in shock.

"Is that bad?"

"It makes you old enough to be my grandmother. I'm 26. I think the math would make me 18 rotations".

Zafia frowned, "Perhaps you should not use my real age. Pick one that seems more correct". He stared at her a minute. The problem was she could be anywhere from 20 to 35. He finally settled on something that would be believable if someone knew she was a physicist. He went back to work creating the necessary documents and a passport. He'd need photos but thought he should wait until she at least had a real shirt to wear.

"We'll take your picture when you've got some clothes. How are you feeling?"

"Okay".

"Not in too much pain?"

"No, no. We heal fairly quickly. So you all just run all over Earth collecting aliens and technology?" Zafia asked picking up a bit of something from the table.

'Well, not all over Earth, but around Cardiff and Briton."

"How do you get into this? When you're a child you tell your parents you want to catch aliens? They send you to alien catching classes?"

"No, nothing like that, Torchwood sort of finds you. This is Torchwood 3. We had a Torchwood in London, that's where I got my start. It was destroyed by Daleks and Cybermen. It was…" he closed his eyes for a long second before opening them again. "I hope that virus of you created works". Zafia thought it best to not mention that Jack had already told her of Ianto's encounter with the Cybermen.


	8. Shopping Adventure

_"How do you get into this? When you're a child you tell your parents you want to catch aliens? They send you to alien catching classes?"_

_"No, nothing like that, Torchwood sort of finds you. This is Torchwood 3. We had a Torchwood in London, that's where I got my start. It was destroyed by Daleks and Cybermen. It was…" he closed his eyes for a long second before opening them again. "I hope that virus of you created works". Zafia thought it best to not mention that Jack had already told her of Ianto's encounter with the Cybermen._

Jack closed the blinds to his office and sat the leather bag Zafia had been found with on his desk. They had scanned it for explosives or dangerous technology but he'd thought it best to check before handing it back to her.

Ianto had done his best to clean the silver blood from the bag, but hadn't been successful in completely removing the stain. Jack undid the latch on the top and reached in pulling out the first thing he touched. It was a shirt similar to the one she was wearing when she arrived. He folded it and placed it on the desk. The next item was a pair of long pants, folded and stacked on the shirt. There were two electric pads with a brush for writing and several days' worth of food. In one pocket he found a currency card, her identification and a small pouch holding several bracelets, a pendant and earrings of the finest work he'd ever seen. Whoever had made them had spent a lot of time on them.

Jack looked at the collection on his desk. It was clear it had been packed in haste. He opened the drawer in the cabinet behind him that held the weapons they had retrieved from her and he removed the blue bladed spiral knife from the bag. The larger knife and gun would have to stay for now, but the smaller knife, which Jack noticed had the same fine detail on the handle, was more of a ceremonial item than an actual weapon. It was tradition to receive one at the end of Thurmatology, much like a car at 16 or a watch for graduation.

The knives were difficult to make and the quality ones were expensive. Studying the blade he wondered who had given it to her. He assumed her parents and just judging from the knife he assumed they had loved her very much. She had told the team their mates became their family, and it was true, they did but most Zy'oeans remained close to their parents even if they didn't spend much time with them.

Jack repacked the bag and closed it. When Ianto and Zafia got in he would give it back to her and then have Gwen and Tosh take her shopping to find clothes.

Jack headed out to the Hub and saw Ianto at the coffee pot, pouring mugs of coffee, "Morning" he said trying to sneak up on the man.

"Morning, and you know you can't sneak in those boots", he said handing him a cup of coffee.

"I had to try, how was last night?"

"Uneventful".

"Would you tell me if it was?"

"Not likely. Zafia's down in the med bay with Owen".

"I sent Owen home an hour ago". Jack headed down that way with Ianto following with coffee. "Owen! Home!"

"Yeah yeah" He was leaning over Zafia's side with a small pair of scissors and tweezers. "I was on my way out when these two came waltzing in."

"Waltzing, you were waltzing?" Jack asked looking Ianto with a smirk.

"What is a waltzing?" Zafia asked.

"The waltz is a type of dance" Ianto told her.

"We weren't dancing".

"It's an expression"

"Anyway, I wanted to check her over before I went home and apparently her super healing powers are trying to heal over the stitches so I have to take them out". Once he got the stitches out he covered the parts that weren't quite healed with butterfly bandages and dismissed her. He gathered up his coat again and left with a grunt when they bid him farewell.

"Tosh, Gwen, I'd like you to take Zafia out to find some clothes. Owen removed her stitches, but I think she'll be well enough to go. Ianto and I will stay to mind the Rift."

"Mind the Rift" Gwen said putting air quotes around the phrase, "is that like 'Weevil hunting'?"

Ianto rolled his eyes regretting his teammates finding out about him and Jack. "No Gwen it is code for I am going to the tourist office and Jack is going to his office to attack that pile of paperwork". As if to make his point, and least Jack get any ideas, he turned and left through the cog door.

"I think he told you Captain Harkness. Come on Zafia," she said as she and Tosh gathered their bags and together they left through the tourist office.

Zafia rode in the back of the car, staring out the window in wonderment. She had only gone to and from Ianto's to the Hub and generally it was dark then. This would be her first trip out on Earth, to mix with the human race and the thought of it thrilled the scientist in her. The part, this new part that was developing, was terrified. She had accepted everything well she had thought, it wasn't exactly like one tripped and fell on the ground galaxies away, but over the next day the reality was starting to affect her. The pain of losing her family, not her mates - another part of her acknowledged she had lost them Rotations ago, but now Aziel and Sovel were gone, her parents and sisters, her sisters' children all gone.

She wasn't worried about death, in her line of work, she had seen enough and still had time before her own, she wondered if these people, her new family would fulfill her wish for a proper Zy'oean funeral. She was starting to worry about them growing tired of her and her endless questions. Ianto had said she could stay as long as she wanted in his 'flat', but she thought he would grow tired of her presence there and has much as he and Jack tried to hid their relationship, she knew her being there would interfere. Already Owen seemed upset with her, she didn't blame him, she'd popped up out of nowhere bleeding and he'd had to take care of her. This morning she had kept him from his bed after having worked all night. This new insecure part of her gnawed on the back of her mind and she didn't like it.

'This feeling will pass' she told herself, 'today is for new adventures, not for dwelling on things'. Outside her window she watched all the cars speeding past. Personal transports weren't uncommon on Zy'oe, but most preferred to walk or use the teleport services. She was fascinated with the large buildings of all sorts of material. She made a mental note to ask what they all were. The buildings were much larger than the ones in the area of Zy'oe where she had grown up and currently lived. In the Mid-World most buildings were short and all were made of the same brown mud bricks. They were used because they were sturdy and kept the hot sun out of the homes and buildings, but compared to the buildings in the North or along the coast, they were rather boring. The shops along the paths were all lined up and squished together. Her parents owned a shop wedged in between a clothing shop and a shop that sold information pads. Here the shops were all sizes and shapes, and different colors and styles. It reminded her a bit of the Coast, Sovel had grown up there and when he and Aziel had bonded it was the one thing he wouldn't budge on, he refused to leave the Coast, and after seeing it, she didn't blame him.

Now that she was here, seeing all of these interesting buildings, she wasn't sure she would want to leave here either. "Zafia? Are you getting out? We're here" Gwen said leaning in her door, she had been so caught up in things she hadn't realized they had stopped and gotten out.

Slowly Zafia got out still looking at the huge building, "it's so…" her voice trailed off.

"So no shopping malls on Zy'oe?" Tosh asked, "if anyone says anything to you, or asks where you are from, say Iceland".

"Iceland? What is Iceland?"

"It's a country, we'll just tell them you are visiting."

"Will they ask?" Both women paused to look at the shorts, boots and sweater she still wore after two days. Between the odd wardrobe and the way she gawked at everything, it would certainly draw stares and probably questions.

"They might, love" Gwen said taking her hand. "It'll be alright. Your first big day out, let us know if you get too overwhelmed okay?" Zafia nodded and followed them towards the building.

While she had been busy watching out the window, Tosh and Gwen had worked on a list of things she would need, they still weren't sure how best to tackle the list. They had to assume she had nothing other than what she currently wore. They paused to look at the directory of shops and when Tosh looked up she noticed Zafia was gone.

"Bloody hell" Gwen swore, "we've been here 5 minutes" she and Tosh scanned the shops and the people nearby. At least it wasn't crowded.

"There!" Tosh pointed out. Zafia stood in front of a store window advertising lingerie, looking perplexed. "You can't just disappear like that" Tosh told her, trying not to sound like a disappointed parent.

"You wear this in public?" she asked.

"No, no not generally. They go under clothes."

"I see" she said, but she really didn't. "Everyone wears them?"

"Just the ladies".

"I think we better start here" Gwen said. Neither she nor Tosh had given any thought to what she might be wearing under her clothes. Zafia stopped to look at everything, to touch all of the satins and lace. Not sure where to start, the girls were relieved when the elderly sales clerk came to ask if they needed help and offered bra fittings. They immediately shoved Zafia in her direction. Zafia seemed unsure about what the woman was doing, but she let her work. She made a tsking sound, and muttered something about 'you poor dear' before bustling off. She returned a few moments later with an arm load of bras and put them in a room, ushering Zafia in.

She stood and looked at the pile the woman had left, and sat heavily on the bench. This was only the first store and she felt overwhelmed. She wondered if she should tell Gwen and they could retreat to the safety of the Hub. She wasn't sure how long she had sat there when there was a soft knock on the door, "Is everything alright?" Tosh asked. "Do you need help?"

"I…" she sighed. She had no idea if she needed help. Not sure about her response Tosh peeked in the door and when she saw Zafia sitting there, she came in pulling the door shut behind her and sat next to Zafia. "I can do this" she said quietly, "I was a leader on my team. I made sure things got done. I pushed people to do things".

"You've been through a lot in a very short period of time. Sometimes, there's no easy way to do things, so you just have to jump in all the way. You take a deep breath and do it. We get this done today, and I am sure you will feel better in some clean clothes, and then you can hang out in the Hub. Just think of this as a project you and your team are working on. Only there are no right and wrong answers with this one." Zafia nodded and wiped her eye.

"We have shops on Zy'oe and we wear clothes. Maybe not so many different clothes, in so many colors and feelings, but I can do this. I am here on Earth, and I can master clothes" she said with more determination than she felt.

"There you go, so try some of these on and I'll go see what Gwen is doing".

"Thanks Tosh". Tosh gave her a warm smile and slipped out of the fitting room.

It had taken a bit of work, but they finally settled on a selection of pieces that Zafia liked. Neither Gwen or Tosh made any comments, she had selected both severely boring and very sexy, with nothing in between.

The next stop was for shirts which was much easier. She firmly understood the concept of shirts, and had no problems selecting a variety. She found a few pairs of jeans, skirts and a dress. At each store they had to stop her from feeling everything, every time she touched something she asked what it was. As interested as Gwen was in getting everything they needed, Zafia was more interested in learning the names for the articles of clothing, the material they were made of, and the feeling of them – the texture she learned. They hit a minor snag with the introduction of socks, which was another new article, but after explaining what they were for, Zafia picked out pairs in every color they had. She tried on every pair of shoes, but after nearly toppling over in a pair of heels, she stuck with a pair of trainers and ballet flats.

By the time they were done their arms were loaded with bags, "this is a lot of things" Zafia observed while they ate lunch.

"You will be here for a while, and you have nothing to start with, so it is a lot. Once you get them in the closet it won't seem like as much. Besides, Jack's buying, might as well make it count".

They returned to the Hub late that afternoon and left the bags in Gwen's car. She had offered to drop Zafia off at Ianto's but she didn't have a key. "You were gone all day, and you got nothing?" Jack asked seeing their empty hands.

"Please. We're women Jack, of course we found things. They're in my car." Gwen said sitting at her desk. "Once she gets Ianto's key, I'm going to drop her off there". Jack sort of nodded looking at Zafia, who had curled up on the couch and looked as though she had been put through the wringer. He suddenly remembered her bag upstairs and went to fetch it.

"I believe this is yours" he said presenting it to her. He was pleased to see her whole face light up.

"I thought it was lost" she said lovingly stroking the material.

"And I think you can have this back, just don't use it on Ianto" he handed the blue bladed knife back. "I think this is the finest one I've ever seen. It's really beautiful" Zafia nodded turning it over in her hands.

"My parents made it, one for me and one for Aziel". She reached into the pocket and pulled out the pouch that contained the jewelry and dumped the pieces in her hand. "My Idyn makes these" Jack was surprised. He hadn't considered her parents had made the jewelry. Paiz makes weapons, together they run a shop, selling each, but they also make things like this" she held the knife up. It made sense to Jack, the fine details done by a jeweler applied to a weapon, both made with love.

"What is Idyn and Paiz?" Ianto asked seemingly appearing from nowhere.

"Idyn is your carrying parent, and Paiz is the Life Giver" Jack said, and Zafia nodded.

"If there is a third parent they are Nokr, but I never had one. Idyn said he knew as soon as he saw Paiz's work. He could imagine the beautiful pieces they could make. Paiz took a little longer to come around. They had both been Third Mates to others when they met and Paiz wasn't sure he wanted to leave his mates."

"Both of your parents were male?" Tosh asked.

"Yes. They have 4 girls, after me."

"Poor guys" Jack said. "Anyway, I think you can take those with you".

"Thank you" he could see the appreciation in the look she gave him. They both knew it was her last bit of home.

Not long after, Zafia got the key from Ianto and Gwen took her home and helped carry in her bags, then left her to organize things how she wanted. It took a while but she finally got it sorted.

When Ianto got home late that night, he found her asleep on her bed, in a pair of new pajamas with the lights still on. He carefully pulled the blanket around her and turned out the light. Clearly she had had a busy day.


	9. Archives & Weevils

_When Ianto got home late that night, he found her asleep on her bed, in a pair of new pajamas with the lights still on. He carefully pulled the blanket around her and turned out the light. Clearly she had had a busy day._

In the morning Zafia appeared in jeans, a casual plaid button down and her trainers. Ianto took a minute to look her over. "Is it okay?' she asked concerned.

"Yes, perfect" in fact it did suit her well. "You look like a regular old human now" he said handing her a cup of coffee before they settled at the table for breakfast. "So this should be your first day of work, what do you want to start with?"

"All of it" she said between bites of toast.

"Think you can narrow that down?"

"I will work with you in the archives in the morning until the others come in. Tosh comes in next so then I can work with her. While you chase aliens I will talk to Janet and in the afternoon I will help Owen. He is less grumpy in the afternoon."

"You caught on to all of that very quickly".

"I don't have time to be a slow learner" she said licking the jam offer her fingers. Ianto hadn't thought of it that way.

"Well don't think you have to do it all at once".

"Yes. I want to try everything. This is new jam".

"It's marmalade".

"It's gross" it was the first thing she had openly disliked. "Let's not have it again".

"I won't put it on your toast" Zafia nodded.

When they got to the Hub Zafia followed Ianto down to the archives. He explained that in over the 100 years since Torchwood had been around there had been very few who had actually attempted to track anything. In his time there he had managed to get most of the files organized but the technology was proving more difficult. Things that had looked like weapons Jack had tried in the firing range over the years. They were generally labeled 'weapons' in one area, another for medical and then there were rows of shelves of things collected they hadn't figured out. Plus there were still the boxes marked Torchwood One that Ianto had never had the courage to open. He was afraid to see what Jack had salvaged from the wreckage.

It was all of these unmarked shelves that he thought she could help with. "You have collected many things. All of this came through the Rift like me?"

"All of it. I've been using this" he held up a scanner device. "It etches a barcode into an item, and then you can enter the information about the item so we can find it later". He held it over the desk and with the push of a button a green laser burned a barcode and numbers into it. The screen pulled up a form with the number populated, Ianto showed it to Zafia. In the fields he filled out 'desk, Earth c. 2000, Torchwood archives.' "So if Tosh were to run a search for desks, this one will show up". He handed the scanner to her. "Look for anything you recognize and start there. Questions?"

"No, I think I can do it".

"Good. Just be careful not to barcode yourself. It can etch metal".

"I will be careful".

"I'll be over there" he pointed to the other end of the room. Zafia just nodded and with a deep breath she turned her attention to her first Torchwood assignment.

Zafia sat in the vaults outside of Janet's cell. It had taken several days but the Weevil had moved closer to the glass to mirror Zafia's actions. Zafia had tried speaking to her in several languages but so far all she had gotten were some snarls and grunts. What she did get was the deep feeling of fear and sadness. She wondered if it was the Torchwood agents, the cell or coming through the Rift that frightened her. Zafia could certainly relate to the fear of coming through the Rift and being in a strange world, but Zafia, unlike the Weevils came with a higher understanding of English and had been able to talk to the Torchwood team. She also had the benefit of not having the desire to bite people. She was pretty sure if she had bitten Ianto that first night on Earth she would be sitting in the cell next to Janet for the rest of her life. Zafia held her hand to the glass and Janet did the same pressing their palms together. "It will be okay" Zafia told her, "we'll figure you out and maybe get to back to your family". Janet made a moaning noise and Zafia wondered if she understood. "I will see you tomorrow" she said standing and the Weevil went back to the corner she usually crouched in.

Zafia headed down to the archives. She had barely made a dent in the massive collection of things Torchwood held. It had taken a bit of work but she made a small space on one shelf for the things she had labeled and found an empty box when she was throwing other things in. Two small square objects sat on the desk along with a cup of coffee. Zafia turned an orb over in her hands studying the marks of the outside and after a minute she added it to the collection of the desk and took a sip of the coffee.

Sitting on the edge of the desk she gazed over the shelving units wondering how many things they had collected and how they had decided which things to keep. Earth hadn't begun to explore space yet and some of the things they had were beyond their understanding while others were literally space trash. She was beginning to understand why Ianto had been uncertain when she said she was going to do everything. Zafia had underestimated the amount of stuff in the archives but her other projects helped break her day up. Draining her mug she picked up the scanner and went back to work.

Jack found Zafia down in the cells again, he'd been casually watching her on the CCTV but she hadn't actually said how things were going, partly because when she got in she immediately went to the archives and then bounced from the cells, to Tosh's desk, and then to Owen's. Some days it made him dizzy to watch her. "How's it going?" he asked leaning on the cell next to where Zafia sat.

"Slow" she said watching the Weevil move to the back of her cell. "She is lonely".

"She told you that?"

"Not directly. Just impressions".

"Tell her if she didn't bite people we'd let her go".

"She is frightened. Wouldn't you attack if you were scared?" Jack had to admit she had a point, but they still couldn't have aliens roaming Cardiff trying to eat people, regardless of the reason.

"Where do they come from?" he asked.

"The dark".

"The dark?" The only thing they had heard in reference to the dark or the darkness was death. "What does the dark mean?"

Zafia shook her head, "I don't know. It's just dark. I will keep trying to work with her. If we get answers from her, will you consider letting her go?"

Jack studied the Weevil, they'd already caught her twice before deciding just to leave her in the cell, "we'll discuss it then". He wasn't about to make any promises when it came to Janet. "How are the archives?"

"A mess. Ianto uses the term disaster".

Jack snorted, "of course he does. Have you made any progress?"

"Not much". She stood up and said goodbye to Janet. Together Jack and Zafia went down to the archives. Ianto was surprised to see Jack; Jack cast a grin in his direction but stayed with Zafia. She pointed to the box that sat in the middle of the aisle. "You are collecting space trash".

"We have a saying that goes 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'."

Zafia held up an odd chunk of metal, "I believe you would call this a toilet handle".

"You never know when you might need one" Zafia raised an eyebrow and Jack decided she had spent too much time with Ianto already.

"Part of a boot, a broken light, a scrap of who knows what, if I find body parts or waste, I quit".

"I have a cell for you if you do" Jack argued, although he seriously doubted she believed him.

"I will put the trash here. I will not put it in the scanner".

Jack wandered over to the desk picking up one of the items she had added to the collection. "What are these?"

"Bombs". Jack looked at the 8 objects on the desk; he hadn't recognized any of them.

"I don't think they are active, but you should probably store them more carefully". Jack nodded; he'd talk to Ianto about it before he went back upstairs. "So far the rest has been ... stuff".

"Well, it looks like you are making progress. Tosh has been telling me about her translation program".

"It is very good. We have made a few changes. I don't know a lot of the languages that she has, but she is working on modifications. It is her project, you should ask her about them, she's very excited".

"I will. I should go check on Ianto, make sure he's keeping out of trouble" he said with a wink.

From the distance they heard "I heard that Jack". Jack flashed her a smile and went off to find Ianto.

As she went back to work she could hear Jack and Ianto making jabs at each other as Jack tried to get Ianto out of working. She shook her head in amusement listening to them make plans for 'weevil hunting' for later that night.


	10. Anatomy With Ianto

**Author's note: **This was one of the chapters that I'm just not happy with but at some point, you just have to let it go.

Happy Valentine's Day.

* * *

><p><em>"I will. I should go check on Ianto, make sure he's keeping out of trouble" he said with a wink.<em>

_From the distance they heard "I heard that Jack". Jack flashed her a smile and went off to find Ianto._

_As she went back to work she could hear Jack and Ianto making jabs at each other as Jack tried to get Ianto out of working. She shook her head in amusement listening to them make plans for 'weevil hunting' for later that night._

Ianto stopped outside Zafia's room while he worked the knot out of his tie, "alright?" he asked. She seemed to be lost in thought staring at her bare feet.

"What?" She looked up at him not having really heard him. Ianto leaned on her doorway pulling off his shoes and socks tossing them towards his bedroom at the end of the hall.

"You seemed lost for a second there".

"I was just thinking about home". He came in and sat beside her, "wondering what they are doing, if they are happy, if they care what happened to me; but I don't think they do" she added quietly. Ianto could feel the pain in her heart making his own ache. He put an arm around her shoulders pulling her into a half hug.

"You shouldn't waste your thoughts on them. There are too many other good things in this world and yours to think of".

"I know" she said with a heavy sigh turning her face into his neck inhaling the smell of him. He smelled so exotic from the men on Zy'oe. "It's hard to let go though".

"I know" despite everything with Lisa, it had still been hard to let her go, even when he accepted she hadn't been herself and had used him. He felt Zafia rub her forehead against his jaw, her hair tickling his cheek. "What are you doing" he almost giggled.

Zafia sat up, she almost looked embarrassed but she laid her hand on his cheek running her hand over the day's stubble. "It's scratchy" she sounded amazed and before he could catch it a laugh escaped from him.

"I'm sorry" he said shyly rubbing his own hand over his cheek, "yeah; I'll shave before I go back to work".

"Why?"

"So I don't look scruffy".

"Scruffy…" she repeated the word and smoothed the back of her hand over his cheek again. "I like it, this scruffy scratchy".

"Men don't have beards on Zy'oe" he guessed.

"Beard?"

"Facial hair".

"No" she shook her head and leaned over rubbing the tip of her nose on him. He tried not to move as this was clearly entertaining for her and she seemed oblivious to how awkward he felt. Zafia pressed her cheek to his so he could feel the flutter of her eyelashes and her soft breath. Everything in him told him he needed to let go and walk away. He dropped his arm, but it seemed to settle itself around her waist. He tried to pull away but instead found himself pressing his lips to hers and to his surprise, she responded kissing him back.

Ianto pulled his arm tighter around her holding her closer. Zafia moved her arm around his shoulder pulling herself across his lap, clutching him as if her life depended on the kiss. For all Ianto knew, it did, at least the ache in his chest was quickly subsiding. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought all of this was getting quickly out of hand although the rest of his body didn't agree and neither did Zafia as she was working the top buttons of his shirt open. "Stop" he finally gasped, "just…" her aqua eyes froze on his giving him a scared look, he tried to give her a reassuring look, lightly resting his hand on her cheek caressing his thumb over her delicate cheekbone. "We have all night, there's no hurry", he told her. Zafia's hands rested on his chest so she could feel his heart racing and his breathing returning to normal.

"Sorry" she said.

"Don't be".

"It's just been so long since anyone… I got excited".

Ianto didn't even try to keep a straight face, "me too" he confessed although he had no doubt she could feel his erection pressing against her.

"It's been a long time since I've been with a man" she admitted.

"How long?"

"Before Aneal. We were together for 35 Rotations", she chewed her lip not looking at him. Ianto tried not think about how long that was in Earth years, instead he pulled her into a kiss.

"She doesn't deserve you" he told her. "And, I have never been with an alien", he said as if that somehow made them even.

"Me either. What about Jack?" she asked.

"Screw Jack" Zafia's eyebrows went up. Ianto forgot that over the last few weeks Owen had been introducing her to all the slang and profanities of Earth, including all the uses for the word 'screw'. She leaned forward breathing in his ear, "promise?" she almost purred.

"Oh god" he exhaled. The brief thought of Jack and Zafia almost pushed him over the edge and he closed his eyes trying to keep it together. Zafia had returned to the buttons on his shirt and put her hand in the hair on his chest. He let go of her long enough to free his arms from his sleeves discarding the shirt and pulled Zafia's over her head. She pushed him back on the bed attacking his lips again before moving down his throat and chest. She paused when she reached his belt and he willed her to undo it and free him from his pants. When she showed no signs of moving he opened his eyes looking down at her. She was giving his navel a perplexed look and the phrase 'navel gazing' crossed his mind. He pushed himself up on his elbows, "why are you staring at my navel?" She gently ran her hand over his stomach before poking her finger in it. "It's a navel or a belly button" he told her.

"What does it do?"

Ianto frowned "nothing".

"Is it like this?" she said sitting up and tapped at the line above her hip. The same line he'd poked at her first day on Earth and made a complete arse out of himself in the process. Jack had explained later that the 'line' was an aluran and the end of the birth canal. All Zy'oeans had one he told them and they wouldn't open until delivery, after birth it would heal over.

"No. All humans have one. Before we're born it's how we get food and air from our mothers. It's like a scar".

"A scar from being born?"

"Yes. Useful for 9 months, but now it's just there". It seemed a light had gone off as Zafia understood. She turned her back to him pulling her hair off her neck, just at the base of her skull in her hair line was a half inch line, "we have them too" she said turning back to him. "Maybe we aren't so different" she said.

He intentionally brushed his thigh against her, "why don't you take off those pants and I will let you know" he said. As if taunting him he got up and slowly removed them. He had to give credit to Gwen and Tosh; they had done a nice job helping her pick out lingerie. The scar from being stabbed was almost gone and he admired the way her color wrapped around her.

He undid his belt and pants and pushed them down as he sat up then reached out for Zafia pulling her closer until she stood between his knees. As interested in his belly button has Zafia had been, he found it odd there wasn't one on her flat stomach. He took his time exploring it with his lips, kissing everything within reach before unclasping her bra and discarding in the direction he'd thrown their shirts. He stood up gathering her in his arms and kissed her as he turned her around gently laying her back on the bed and stretched out beside her as he continued to kiss her. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. She nodded, running her hand over his back.

"Yes" it was barely a whisper, "I want this, I want you". With her free hand she traced it down his chest and stomach and into his boxers. He gasped as she gently touched him, it was so different from the way Jack did, it was almost as if she was unsure how to. In a way it was like being a virgin all over again. "Yes" she repeated, "I want this" she withdrew her hand and wriggled out of her underwear. Ianto paused to admire her form, and was a little relieved to see she didn't appear to be too different from Earth women. "Do you?" she asked, mistaking his pause for reluctance.

He brought his eyes back to hers, "yes". He pushed his boxers off and reached over her into the nightstand and pulled out a condom. "What is that?" she asked eyeing the foil packet suspiciously.

"A condom" when her expression didn't change, he offered "it prevents you from getting pregnant".

"I can't, it's not time".

"It also prevents diseases".

"You have diseases?" she pushed his back just a little, the cross look on her face was almost enough to ruin the mood.

"Well I don't. Some people do and they can pass it on to their partner".

"Your planet is strange. Will it hurt?"

"No. You won't even notice it so stop worrying" he said kissing her while moving his hand down her body and between her legs which she eagerly welcomed with a soft moan. He let his fingers explore, enjoying the little noises that she made until she took his hand away and gripped his hip pulling him to her. "Wait, I –" he still held the condom in one hand and braced himself with the other, but she grabbed it and threw it out of reach. She said something in Zy'oean and pressed her body to his, regardless of the language barrier, he could tell she was begging, "please Ianto" she whispered in his ear, making him lose all resolve. He could feel her body trembling as he carefully slid in her, pausing when her fingers dug into his shoulder.

"Okay?" she nodded.

"It's just been a while" she said loosening the grip on his shoulder and he felt her relax under him. With each move he made he could feel her melding her body to his as if she could completely envelope him within her.

For the first time since she arrived, his heart didn't ache for her. It felt like there was a humming in his chest and thought his heart might burst with happiness. He didn't understand the words she mumbled but he could guess as her breathing became erratic and her eyes rolled back as her body seemed to trap him within. The heat and tightness of her made him lose what little control he had been holding on to.

He could feel her hands on his face caressing and kissing him until his strength gave out and he collapsed in her arms. She wrapped them around him holding him close as she applied calming strokes over his shoulders and back. Zafia left a trail of kisses across his forehead and temple. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

Ianto slightly nodded and found the energy to move so he didn't crush her. "You are amazing" he said tenderly kissing her lips and pulled her against his chest.

Zafia snuggled her face against him "I like this" she said as she combed her fingers over his chest.

"So, no hairy chested men on Zy'oe?"

"No. No hair on our arms or legs either".

"Weird".

"It's weird that you are. Weird, but nice". They laid in silence for several minutes just enjoying the closeness.

"I hope you weren't lying when you said you couldn't get pregnant. Human alien babies… Jack would kill me". As human as she looked and felt, she was still an alien, and while he doubted Jack would have a problem with him sleeping with her, babies were a whole other complication.

"No, I'm not lying. My body knows it's shutting down, so I couldn't even if I wanted to". Ianto could have done without the reminder and hugged her. "Will you?" she asked.

"Me? No. Human men can't get pregnant".

"Why not? Are you broke?"

"No, it's just that men aren't made that way".

"But men can take other men for their mates, how do they have children?"

"They don't. Well not on their own anyway. They can adopt".

"Adopt?" she asked not fully understanding the concept.

"If someone has a child they can't take care of, or they don't want they can put it up for adoption and other people can raise it as their own".

Zafia sat up giving him a horrified look, "how are there unwanted children?"

"People not using condoms and there are other situations".

"Is it really so easy for humans?" she shook her head, "it just…" Ianto could tell she was getting upset at the idea, and it was ruining their post-coital contentment.

"Come here" he coaxed her back into his arms. "We can have a biology lesson tomorrow. Don't be upset", he said tucking the blanket around her.

"Will you stay with me tonight?"she asked quietly.

"If you'd like" he kissed her forehead, "let me go turn out the lights in the flat and I'll be right back". She half nodded and he slipped out of bed gathering up his clothes off the floor taking them with him.

Ianto returned 15 minutes later, teeth brushed and wearing a pair of pajama bottoms. Zafia had curled up on herself and pulled the blankets tight around her so he had to tug them from around her. "Are you cold?" he asked spooning behind her and wrapping an arm around her. He could feel her trembling and he knew it wasn't from the cold. "What's wrong?"he asked pulling her tighter to him. "Zafia, did I do something? Did I hurt you?" She shook her head and rolled over pressing her face against him.

"It hurts so much" she choked between sobs.

"What hurts?" he was worried he really had hurt her.

"The loneliness".

"You aren't alone. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere" he wrapped his arms tightly around her and tucked her head under his chin. "Please don't cry. You will never be alone here, I promise, as long as you need us, but please, you are making my heart hurt", he was sure if the pain got any worse he would have a heart attack. "And sobbing after sex generally gives humans a complex, so if this is normal I think I am going to leave it to you and Jack" he tried to joke. She made a coughing snort noise as she tried to pull herself together, "did you just snot on my chest? That's really not sexy", he could feel her try to giggle.

She let go of Ianto to wipe her cheek off, "I'm sorry" she said quietly. "Sometimes it's like it just comes from nowhere and I can't stop it".

"Maybe as you settle in here it will get better" he tangled his fingers in her hair.

"I'm sorry for making your heart hurt".

"Jack said yours was looking for your mates". She nodded against him.

"Only when we are together do we have a whole heart. Maybe Owen can help so others can't feel it. I've never heard of non-Zy'oeans being affected by it."

"I don't think the others can feel it, just me and Jack. Usually it doesn't hurt so much".

"I'm sorry" she apologized again, "I don't know why it's you".

"Part of the mystery of working with Torchwood".

"But thank you" she squeezed him in a sort of half hug, "for this. It helps and it's nice to feel desired".

"As Jack would say, 'the pleasure was all mine'".

"Ianto, do you love him? You told me the day I arrived it was complicated".

"Sometimes I think I do. Other times I want to punch him. But in the end it will never last". He sighed thinking of how long Jack's life would be and how many had already come before him. "I am just one of many".

"You don't think he loves you?"

"No. I think he cares. He cares about all of us. I'm just…" he hated to use Owen's term of 'part-time shag', but that's all it would ever really be. "Jack hates labels and we really don't have a proper relationship. It's complicated". It was really the only way to describe it.

"Will he mind this?"

"I don't think so… but I can't promise he won't invite himself next time". She made a sound caught between a hum and a hmm and he wasn't sure what that meant. Somehow the idea of them together crept back into his mind and he felt like a guilty horny teenager again. Then he found himself wondering how the Zy'oeans worked out their three person relationships. He took a deep breath and tried to clean his head. The pain in his chest had finally faded and it felt like he was the only one in there again. Ianto kissed the top of Zafia's head and tucked the blanket around them and dozed off to sleep.

In the morning they had an awkward, quiet breakfast and drive into the Hub. Ianto hadn't been sure what to say, and Zafia seemed to pick up his cues. She headed to the archives without waiting for him to make coffee. He'd talk to her when he went down, meanwhile it would give him a few minutes to collect his thoughts on the previous night.

Ianto sat Jack's mug on his desk and then turned to head out the door, but he stopped and turned around putting his hands on his hips studying the man who was gazing at him over the rim of his mug, and made a decision. "I slept with Zafia last night. It was amazing and I don't feel guilty about it" he announced and left without pausing. As he made his way down the stairs, he heard Jack choke on his coffee.


	11. Biology With Owen

_Ianto sat Jack's mug on his desk and then turned to head out the door, but he stopped and turned around putting his hands on his hips studying the man who was gazing at him over the rim of his mug, and made a decision. "I slept with Zafia last night. It was amazing and I don't feel guilty about it" he announced and left without pausing. As he made his way down the stairs, he heard Jack choke on his coffee._

Before Jack could catch him Ianto took two cups of coffee to the archives. Zafia was sitting between two rows, the scanner on one side of her and the box of 'junk' on the other. He handed her one of the mugs and sat beside her looking at the shelf, "what's that?" he asked noticing the oblong object she held in her other hand.

"I'm not sure" she took a sip of the coffee and hummed.

"You are starting to sound like Jack". Zafia shrugged and handed him the object. As she let go of it it morphed into a sphere and was warmer than Ianto had expected. "Should it be moving?" moving alien tech was rarely a good sign.

"I think it's a sort of game. I have heard of something similar. They are mental exercises for telepaths; the goal is to get it to stay in one specific shape".

"But since we aren't telepaths?"

"It just stays blobby".

"Blobby? I'm going to have to have a talk with Owen about what he's teaching you". Zafia took the sphere back and put it on the shelf zapping it with her scanner and the pair sat in silence drinking their coffee.

"Are you upset with me?" she finally asked fiddling with another object.

"No, of course not", he reached over tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just a little odd".

"Because I'm an alien?" Ianto rolled his eyes, but she didn't notice.

"Because we are working and living together, and I don't know what last night meant to you or for us or where we go from here".

Zafia nodded, not sure how she felt about everything either, "On Zy'oe, after our Thaumatology, we leave home for school and we often live in groups with others around our age. We're usually single for 4 or 5 Rotations, and we go to parties, events, and things to meet others. I think you would say 'casual affairs'".

"Sounds a bit like University. Parties, getting drunk and making bad life decisions", she smiled a little.

"Yes. It's like that, but in a way we are expected to try all these things. Taking our Second Mate isn't a small decision, and sometimes you have to meet a lot of people to find the right one. I suppose I chose rather poorly, but my point is, during that time, I had years and spent it with a lot of interesting people before Aneal and I promised her forever. I can't make that promise to you or anyone here. Owen's recent scans show I maybe have 8 months left, that's all I can give you. But you have Jack and I don't want to come in the way of that, because you will both be here when I'm gone. You need to do what is best for you and where we go from here… it's based on that".

"What if I told you I would take those 8 months? We see a lot of death in Torchwood; our morgue is full of bodies. No one lives to grow old, so we all learn to live in the now because generally, there is no later".

"Then why do it?"

Ianto pointed to the desk where she had been collecting bombs and other weapons, "because of that. A child could find it, or it could blow up a city and someone has to protect the people. Things here are unpredictable and the only thing I can promise you is that Jack will be here when you are gone. Me, Owen, Tosh and Gwen," he shrugged, "every time we go out it could be the last time". Ianto took her hand, "so I will take those 8 months and we'll make the best of the time we're given and we're going to have fun and do as much as we can. Jack can wait".

"How does Jack feel about that?"

"Whatever. Jack up and left for three months without telling us" he said still a bit bitter despite knowing how Jack had spent that time. "He can be obnoxious, impatient, and reckless, so he can deal with it from me for a bit".

"But you love him for it".

"I do not", Zafia smirked at him. "I don't".

"You can still spend time with him. Jealousy isn't something Zy'oeans are known for".

"Yeah, well, we'll see. I told him about last night".

"Oh?"

"I think he was surprised, although it was probably more because I told him than what we actually did. He's only asked every other morning since you arrived".

"Really?"

"It's Jack, are you surprised?" In the time she had spent with Jack all he had done was flirt with everyone and made passes. Owen complained about it when they were together and Jack tried it. Tosh usually giggled a little and Ianto always rolled his eyes at his attempts so she had quickly learned that this was normal for Jack. So, no, she really shouldn't have been surprised he'd asked and admitted as much to Ianto. She heard the beep of Ianto's comm, and it sounded like Tosh on the other end. "Rift activity, I have to go" he told her. "But me and you?"

"Me and you" she repeated. Ianto caressed her cheek and leaned over to kiss her before taking off upstairs.

Zafia worked in the archives a while longer before going upstairs to refill her coffee cup. Jack's office was empty as was Tosh's desk. Gwen had already done home because she had worked the night shift so Zafia filled a second cup and went down to the autopsy bay. A massive grey slimy creature covered Owen's table and he was leaning over its open chest cavity. His gloves were covered in grey sticky goo and he wore a mask. It was really one of the lesser appealing things Zafia had seen since her arrival.

"What is it?" she asked putting his mug on his desk and taking the stool opposite of him, Owen glanced up at her but kept working on the alien.

"Jack called it a Niry; they found it last night eating a dog. Whole. When they tried to catch it, it sort of exploded on them with some sort of numbing agent. Jack said Gwen is a bit of wreck, probably because it got in her hair".

"Well," she said, "not everything that comes through the Rift can be as wonderful as me".

"Oh well look who is just full of herself this morning" he pulled something out of the cavity and pulled his mask down. "Alright Miss Smarty-Pants, what is it?" he held it out towards her causing her to lean back.

"It's gross, that's what", Owen agreed dumping it in a pan. "Can you work and talk?"

"Maybe".

"I brought coffee", she pointed to his desk.

"Talk" he said picking the mug up with a grimy glove. "Put my mask back up first" she rolled her eyes and leaned over pulling it back over his nose and mouth.

"Why can't human men have children?"

"They do, every little screaming kid on this planet came from a man".

"Why can't they get pregnant" she clarified.

"We aren't built that way".

Zafia huffed, "_why?_"

"I don't know _why_. It's the way were created or evolved or whatever you want to believe" he said slightly annoyed and hacked through a rib.

"Zy'oean men and women are the same, the same inside".

"Humans aren't".

"Owen, you're a doctor, explain it"

"What? You want 'the talk'?"

"What is 'the talk'?"

"It's a really awkward conversation you're parents have with you about growing up and where babies come from and sex".

"Yes. Give me 'the talk' then". Owen looked up giving her a suspicious look.

"Is there something I should know about? Are you up to something? Getting it on with _someone_?"

"Owen, I've been having sex with people since before you were born. Ianto said two men couldn't have children together and I want to know why, it goes against everything I understand".

"Oh bollocks, this is going to be awkward…" he said pulling off his gloves and reaching for the mug, pausing when he realized it was covered in goo, he swore under his breath.

Owen pulled the other stool over towards Zafia and handed her a biology book, after all he figure, a picture was worth a thousand words. He had been studying the scans they had taken of Zafia, so it was only fair she should see the inside of a human, even if it was a diagram. As Owen went over the design of the human reproductive systems, he could see the various thoughts and emotions play over her face. Confusion – why were they made so getting pregnant was so easy, anger – why didn't people take their responsibilities more seriously, sympathy – monthly cycles would really be unfortunate, humor – Zy'oean men didn't have testicles and it seems completely inconvenient have them outside of the body. She didn't say anything to Owen, but she wondered how she had missed them the night before and decided she would look further into it.

"And there you have it" Owen finished, "if you would like a demonstration, I get off an hour for lunch".

"And you complain about Jack" she said thumbing through the book pausing at some of the pictures and diagrams. One page caught her attention more than the others; Owen leaned over looking at it. It was a full page of a human heart, completely labeled and outlined. Zafia traced her fingers over the edge of it, "it's so perfect" she said a little sadly.

"I don't know if perfect is the term I would use, but it gets the job done".

"It's whole and it takes care of you all on its own". Owen had never considered it like that before, probably because he'd never thought of anyone being dependent on someone else to keep their heart pumping right.

"It is impressive" he admitted.

"The ideas we were starting to work out, for the babies without hearts, was similar to this. They wouldn't need a mate to survive. But we were still working on getting it in them, and how to construct one, and it would have to grow as the child grew" she shook her head. "I guess it doesn't matter now".

"I am sure they are still working on it, they'll come up with something, it will take a while, but they will".

Zafia nodded, "can you feel the pain in my heart?"

"Sorry sweetheart that is your burden to bear", he slid off his stool and looked over the alien on the table.

"Ianto said he and Jack could feel it", Owen slowly turned around to face her.

"What?"

"Ianto said my heart made his hurt. Can you make it stop? I don't want to hurt them".

"Why in the hell didn't they say anything? I'll murder them when they get back", Zafia could see the anger and annoyance on his face.

"I'm sorry" she apologized. "I didn't mean to hurt them".

"Why is it doing that?"

Zafia shrugged, "I don't know. It happens sometimes when a Zy'oean loses their Mate," she shook her head, "but I don't know why they can feel it".

Owen let out a loud and frustrated sigh, looking back at the Niry on his autopsy table, "look, I need to finish this. When the others get back I will run some tests on them and you and see if we can find out what's going on".

Zafia nodded and closed the book, getting up from where she sat. "I'm going to go talk to Janet" she laid the book on the stool and headed up the stairs. "Owen" she paused, he turned to look at her, "the Niry travel in packs of 4 or 5" she said with a small smirk. "They have a hive mind and are vicious nasty things. That thing in your pan… that's its bladder. There's another one in there too, I'll leave you to figure out what it sprayed Jack and Gwen with". He could see was barely keeping her amusement contained as she nearly bounced up the rest of the steps.

"I hate you!" he yelled after her.


	12. Janet

_Zafia nodded and closed the book, getting up from where she sat. "I'm going to go talk to Janet" she laid the book on the stool and headed up the stairs. "Owen" she paused, he turned to look at her, "the Niry travel in packs of 4 or 5" she said with a small smirk. "They have a hive mind and are vicious nasty things. That thing in your pan… that's its bladder. There's another one in there too, I'll leave you to figure out what it sprayed Jack and Gwen with". He could see she was barely keeping her amusement contained as she nearly bounced up the rest of the steps. _

"_I hate you!" he yelled after her._

"Owen!" he heard Tosh yell from the main part of the Hub. He pulled his gloves off and stomped up the stairs. He had goo splattered on his lab coat and mask. When Jack had asked him to fish the numbing agent out of the Niry they'd brought back he hadn't been expecting to find himself up to elbows in disgusting sticky snot fishing a pair of bladders out of the alien. Tosh was half way down the invisible platform and he could tell, even from the distance, that she was also covered in the gray sticky substance. "Jack and Ianto are taking the car to the garage. We got 3 more of those aliens that we need to bring in. Ianto said there were two gurneys down in the morgue we could use". Owen swore and went to the morgue not even waiting for Toshiko.

In the garage Ianto and Jack were waiting with the back of the SUV open, like Tosh they were also covered in slim. Ianto looked as pissed as Owen felt, "bloody hell" he said. In the back was a pile of aliens, they had to put the seats down to fit them all in. "This is a fucking mess".

"It's going to take months to clean out the car. I am just going to have burn it and get a new one" Ianto told Owen.

"Oh it isn't that bad" Jack started. Ianto put his hands on his hips turning to look at Jack.

"" he said through clenched teeth. "We're taking them straight to the incinerator" he turned back to Owen. "I don't give a shit what is about to come out of Jack's mouth. We are getting rid of them. Now." Owen wasn't about to argue with Ianto when he was this angry and truthfully, he was ready to be done with the mess of the alien upstairs.

Ignoring Jack, Owen and Ianto put two of the aliens on one gurney and one on the other when Tosh showed up and the three hauled them down to be destroyed. Tosh went to get cleaned up while Ianto and Owen cleaned up the mess in the autopsy bay and they stuffed everything in the incinerator. Before closing the door, Ianto stripped off his suit throwing it in and slamming the door shut, "burn it" he told Owen stalking off to go shower.

Everyone was gathering back in the main part of the Hub while Ianto made them coffee. The shower had helped him calm down and the task of making coffee helped clear his head. He took mugs to Tosh and Owen at their computers then went to fill a mug for himself and Jack and headed up to Jack's office.

Jack sat at his desk, also freshly showered. Ianto put the mug in front of him, "thanks" he said weakly. Ianto sat down across from him, "that was a disaster" he admitted.

"Yes. It was".

"I should have listened to you" Ianto nodded sipping his coffee. "Sorry", Jack had under estimated the intelligence and strength of the Niry. He had completely forgotten about their hive mind, which made it impossible for the team to sneak up on them and they ended up walking right into a trap.

"They're gone now and you owe me a suit".

"I will find you a gorgeous suit" he said leaning back in the chair. "So… you and Zafia".

"Yeah" he felt his cheeks blush a little. "It just sort of happened and … I don't know" he confessed.

"It's okay Ianto".

"No, Jack. I don't know if it is" he tipped his head back looking at the ceiling. "Why can't I have a nice normal relationship? Ever since Lisa I have been a relationship train wreck".

"I'm sorry for my part in that. I know we're sort of been …"

"We are what we are. Owen told Zafia she has about 8 months, I'd like to spend that time with her. I'm not even going to pretend you're going to stick around waiting for me, we just aren't -" he shrugged.

Jack got up and went around the desk sitting on the edge, "we are and we aren't a lot of things. I have all the time in the world to wait, if you want, but this is Torchwood, if we do one thing well, it is relationship train wrecks". He leaned over and pressed his lips to Ianto's forehead. "Take whatever time you need".

Ianto stood up, "thanks Jack", he leaned in and kissed him.

"Oi you two!" Owen yelled from the door, interrupting.

"What Owen? Did you sort out that Niry?" Jack asked.

"Yes. Do you have any idea what that stuff is you got sprayed with last night and that you wanted me to dig out of that alien?" he folded his arms across his chest.

"Enlighten me".

"Urine".

"And I just kissed you? I am going to brush my teeth with bleach" Ianto said appalled.

"I pulled the bladders out and they are sitting down in the lab. I'll run some tests on them in a bit" he leaned on the doorway, "but while you were out I had an interesting conversation with Zafia". The guilty look on Ianto's face didn't go unnoticed, but Owen let it slid for the moment. "She said you two have been getting pains in your hearts since she arrived and I am sure there is a really good reason why I am just hearing about this now, so overlooking that minor detail, I want both of you in the lab for tests". Owen turned and headed back downstairs.

"He's probably right" Jack said "is it still happening?" Ianto nodded.

"It like she's bursting with happiness in one minute and the next I thought I was having a heart attack. She said she gets phases of complete breakdowns and that's when it hurts the most. But mostly it's like she's just sort of there" Jack squeezed Ianto's shoulder.

"You should have said something. I haven't noticed it as much, but you've spent more time with her. Go down and see Owen," he pointed to the camera monitor, "Zafia's with Janet again, so I'll go get her and meet you there".

Jack could feel Zafia in his chest before he even made it to the bottom of the steps. It had been several weeks since he had felt this level of pain from her and thought that it must have been what Ianto had spoken of. At the bottom of the steps, he saw Zafia sitting outside of Janet's cell where she often spent time. One hand pressed to the glass and he saw she had iridescent tears streaming down her face when she turned to look at him. Jack stopped several feet from her, making sure to stay out of sight of Janet. Despite the Weevil having calmed down since Zafia's arrival, she still got very agitated when he would appear. He crouched down so they were eye level, "Zafia, what's wrong?"

"We have to let her go" she gasped looking back at the creature in the cell. Jack heard Janet moan pitifully. "Jack, we can't keep them here".

"Zafia, what is she telling you?" Zafia shook her head as if trying to clear it. "Is it about the Dark?" Zafia nodded. Since she had said that the Weevils came from the Dark, he had occasionally wondered what she had meant, but until she could get a better understanding of them, he could only assume they had lived underground as most of them did on Earth.

"They were experiments".

"Experiments?" he repeated and she nodded again.

"The ones that went wrong", Jack winced at the word 'wrong'. He certainly knew how that felt.

"What kind of experiments Zafia?"

"She doesn't know. The good ones were collected and the wrong ones were locked in the Dark. Then the Rift opened. They forced them all into the Rift to destroy them".

"But some of them came out here?"

"Yes. She was looking for her family when you caught her. The people, they attacked her" Zafia shook her head, "she just wants to be back with her family". Zafia looked at Jack, "please let her go".

Jack sighed, they had caught Janet twice already on the surface. The second time she had tried attacking a pair of teenagers, who certainly had the fright of their life. Torchwood ended up Retconning the teens and bringing Janet back, where she had been since. He studied Zafia wondering if what Janet told her was true or if she was just playing into Zafia's sympathy. Even after all the time Owen had studied the Weevil's they still didn't know if they could lie. Until now, he didn't know they were aware of family units. "Ask Janet if we help her find her family, if she will stay below ground? We can't have them running all over Cardiff attacking people".

Zafia turned back to Janet making a low growl in her chest, Janet in return let out a much louder growl and a snarl, "she doesn't believe you".

"But she believes you. If you can get her to agree to stay underground, we will release her. But if we catch her again, she won't be sitting in this cell. It's important she understand that". Jack watched her with some intrigue as she communicated in a series of growls, grunts and snarls with the Weevil. He hoped this was one Tosh was including in her translation program. After what seemed like a long conversation Zafia looked back at Jack.

"She says she will stay underground if you find her family".

"We'll do our best to find them. Tell her that we will take her out tonight. When you are finished, Owen wants to see you in the lab", he stood up and headed back upstairs.

When Zafia made her way up to the main level of the Hub, Jack, Owen and Ianto were down in the autopsy bay. "You got the Niry cleaned up" she said coming down the stairs. She tried not to stare at Ianto, who had his shirt off and his chest had electrodes stuck to it. Jack didn't bother to hide his blatant gazing.

"If you value your life, I suggest you not mention those aliens in front of Ianto" Owen advised her.

"Ah, you caught the rest then?" she asked.

"You know about them?" Jack asked her. Zafia shrugged and hopped on the table sitting next to Ianto.

"I've never seen one until this morning, but I know about them. Disgusting violent things", she was studying one of the electrode tabs, making Ianto uncomfortable. She reached over to poke one and Owen smacked her hand.

"You'll upset the readings. Anyway I have some for you too, so shirt off".

"You just love to say that" she jabbed at Owen as she unbuttoned her shirt.

"One of the few things I love about my job. These are going to monitor your heart" he told her sticking them to her skin. "When I get enough data I can compare it to his. I've never heard of anything like this, so try to take it easy until I can figure it out", He handed her a black device. "All of the readings will go to this, so keep it with you. That goes for you too" he handed another to Ianto. "You can get dressed and a coffee would be brilliant", Ianto rolled his eyes as he slid off the table and headed up the stairs buttoning his shirt with Zafia following.

"Any guesses what's causing it?" Jack asked Owen who was studying the preliminary scans he'd taken of Ianto.

"Right off, no, I'm not seeing anything".

"Could it be psychological?" Owen looked up at Jack.

"Are you thinking she's an empath?"

Jack shook his head "not necessarily. I don't think they were when I was on Zy'oe, but I think it's been a few generations since I was there".

"She mentioned it that sometimes when one Zy'oe loses their mate others can feel their pain".

"I've heard of it. But I don't know why it happens".

"It has to do with them only having half a heart?" he guessed.

"Yes. I think it's like when you have two hearts each beating to their own beat, and you put them near each other and they change their rhythm to beat in synch. After their bonding two Zy'oe hearts always beat in synch".

"And you think that's what hers is trying to do?"

"Not sure. It's one possibility".

"Shouldn't that affect all of us then?" Jack nodded.

"I'd think so. But if she's a passive empath, she could be sending the mental pain of it and we're just feeling it in our hearts. Since Ianto is spending the most time with her, he could be getting the brunt of it. Plus, her having low levels of empathic abilities could explain why she's able to talk to Janet".

"If the Weevils have some telepathic abilities, could they tap into her?"

"It's possible".

"I'll see what this test shows us, if nothing comes up we might want to consider a brain scan, either way, I doubt I will be able to stop it and if it's legitimately affecting Ianto's heart, we'll have to keep them apart so she doesn't give him a heart attack", Jack let out a deep sigh hoping it didn't come to that. He could imagine that would only speed up Zafia's death. Owen must have noticed the look on his face. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Hmm?" Jack looked up at their doctor, "no, no. Have you tagged Janet?" he asked changing the subject.

"Yeah why? She was tagged after we caught her the first time".

"We're letting her go. Tonight".

"We _what_?" Jack relayed to Owen the conversation he'd had with Zafia regarding their resident Weevil about where they had come from. Over the years they had speculated, but this new information would give them a better understanding of them and would enable Torchwood to better protect the Weevils and humans from each other.

"For the record, I think this is a bad idea" Owen told him.

"Well… I am going for a record today". Jack headed upstairs to talk to Tosh to see if she could find the Weevils they had tagged in relation to where they had caught Janet the last time in hopes they could release her near them.

That night Zafia coaxed Janet out of her cell. The Weevil acted nervous around the humans and Zafia did her best to keep herself between them. There was a bit of an argument between the aliens when it came to the SUV Ianto had spent the day cleaning but Zafia finally got her in the back. Only Jack, Zafia and Owen would be going and they drove in silence except from the occasional noise from Janet and Zafia trying to calm her.

Jack parked the car outside of the abandoned warehouse where Tosh had found a large group of Weevils and Zafia let Janet out of the back, "okay, be good" she told the Weevil "stay away from the people". In a surprise gesture Janet held her hand up and Zafia put her palm against it just as they had through the wall of the cell, "I hope you find your family", she said quietly. With a low moan the Weevil turned and loped off and they watched her disappear into the dark. Jack put an arm around Zafia's shoulders pulling her close.

"She'll be okay. Weevil's are tough" Zafia half nodded, "let's get you home".


End file.
